Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Visitors flock to Great Smoky Mountains National Park after reopening this weekend

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Visitors ignore blockades at Alum Cave trail, which is closed, at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened other trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors explore Newfound Gap parking lot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors fill the Newfound Gap parking lot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors walk along the Appalachian Trail near Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Cars park on the side of the road near Alum Cave trail and it’s parking lot which is closed, at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened other trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors fill the Newfound Gap parking lot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors leave Alum Cave trail, which is closed, at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened other trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors walk around at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Cars drive past Newfound Gap parking lot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Visitors walk along the path to the restrooms at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened some trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Cars park on the side of the road near Alum Cave trail and it’s parking lot, which is closed and blocked by cones, at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sunday, May 10, 2020. The park reopened other trails and destinations Saturday, May 9, after closing for an extended period to slow the spread of coronavirus. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — The reopening of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was a little too tempting of a draw Saturday as scores of nature lovers from dozens of states crowded trails and trekked into blocked-off areas, a spokeswoman said.

Even with some of the most popular trails closed, parking lots were packed and lines of cars snaked down tree-lined streets, in one case for about a mile leading up to a waterfall path, according to park spokeswoman Dana Soehn. Many people did not wear masks.

“It seemed like people were not respecting our suggestion that they avoid crowded areas,” said Soehn, adding that she counted license plates from 24 different states in one visitor center parking lot.

Visitors also walked past heavy barricades on one of the park’s most trafficked trails, Laurel Falls, which was closed off to heed federal social distancing guidelines, she said.

On the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the Great Smoky Mountains is the county's most visited national park. It was closed March 24 after officials said it was becoming too congested during the coronavirus pandemic.

The reopening was announced after park officials said they made sure the park was aligned with federal, state and local authorities and that employees had enough personal protective gear. Authorities have stressed that visitors must also practice social distancing.

At the Smokies, officials have said rangers will monitor roads and emergency situations, but won’t be specifically policing people. Instead, Soehn has said she hopes people will visit the park in a way that keeps staffers safe.

“We’ll continue to push out our messaging that we want them to be responsible,” Soehn said. “We would encourage them to make choices to keep themselves safe.”

Cades Cove, a popular visitor destination in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, was a farming community in Blount County before the park was founded. The park is expected to be extra busy this coming Labor Day weekend.
(J. MILES CARY/NEWS SENTINEL/FILE) J. Miles Cary/News Sentinel

Johnna McDaniel, left, and Miram Williamson look on as their husbands, Mark Williamson and Robert McDaniel play on some rocks near the water along the Laurel Creek Road in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Friday. The two couples were visiting the park from Pinehurst, NC. January, 2007 Clay Owen, Knoxville News Sentinel

Maples display a red hue as Fall settles in along the Rich Mountain Loop Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cades Cove Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. While hiking along the 8.5 mile loop, hikers will find that there are few open views of Cades Cove to the South but several of Townsend to the North. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel

Parker Tallent, 7, catches a crawfish in the creek at the Cades Cove picnic area Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2016 while playing with his siblings. The Tallents are from Sevierville and visiting for a spring break picnic. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Michael Patrick, MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL

Luiz, left, Camila, and Fernando Nunez from Florida document their hike to Laurel Falls in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park on, Jan. 26, 2016. The family, originally from Brazil, are on a week-long vacation in the Smokies. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL) CAITIE MCMEKIN, CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL

Conner Noel and Jackie Hall enjoying the last camping space in the Cades Cove campgrounds Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2016. Hall said, "It's spring break and our first time to the Smoky mountains," said Hall and adding, "We are here until Friday to enjoy the mountains." Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced their opening schedule for 2016. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Michael Patrick, MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL

Lois Costanza and Barbara Adams, right, finish their hike of the short loop in Cades Cove Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2016. Costanza is from Maryville and Adams is from New York. Adams added, "It must be spring break cause I've never seen so many cars in here." (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Michael Patrick, MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL

The John Oliver Cabin can be seen just a short distance from the start of the Rich Mountain Loop Trail in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel

Hikers will travel along the Crooked Arm Ridge Trail while making their way around the 8.5 mile Rich Mountain Loop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cades Cove Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel

Gary Haaby pours corn for grinding in Cable Mill in Cades Cove Thursday in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Haaby is a retired school teacher who is gradually taking over operation of the grist mill from long-time miller Hubert Sullivan. 2003. Paul Efird

Traffic on the Cades Cove Loop is seen in October 2012 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park recorded 650,180 vehicles on the Cades Cove Loop in 2012 according to spokeswoman Molly Schroer. (Warren Bielenberg/Special to the News Sentinel) Warren Bielenberg, Warren Bielenberg/Special

Cheri Morris, 10, left, and her cousins Shelby, 7, and Chris, 11, Berkley explore a barn on the Dan Lawson Place in Cades Cove Thursday in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "I like it the way it is (Cades Cove). It's beautiful," said Kate Berkley, the mother of Chris and Shelby. "I know there is some talk of charging to get in. I wouldn't mind paying," she said. The family was on spring break from school in Karns. 2003. Paul Efird

Gary and Diane Leinenbach, with 3 month-old Andrew, explore the grounds of the Methodist Church in Cades Cove Thursday in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Three more meetings are upcoming for public input into long-range management alternatives for the Cove. "I think of all the cars and that they could cut down on traffic," said Diane. The family is from Dunnellon, Florida. Diane's father, Leon Polhill (from Gainesville, Florida), is at right. 2003. Paul Efird

The tree branches on the road to Cades Cove were hung with a think layer of snow Sunday afternoon as funseekers came to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to enjoy the beauty and play in the snow. 2006 Robert Wilson Submitted

Faye Sykes of Clintwood, Va., takes photographs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. The Smokies is off to strong start for 2015 with a record number of visitors recorded for January. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL)
AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS, AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENT

Visitors stop along the road in Cades Cove to view a bear in October 2012 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park recorded 650,180 vehicles on the Cades Cove Loop in 2012 according to spokeswoman Molly Schroer. (Warren Bielenberg/Special to the News Sentinel) Warren Bielenberg, Warren Bielenberg/Special

This undated photo is believed to be of former Cades Cove resident Russell Gregory. Gregory's Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is named for Gregory who is believed to have been killed by North Carolina rebels in Cades Cove in 1864. Dan McDaniels / Special to the N, Knoxville News Sentinel

Storm damage is seen at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Friday in Townsend. Two park visitors were killed and others injured by a violent storm that swept through the Cades Cove area Thursday evening. (J. Miles Cary/News Sentinel) J. Miles Cary, J. Miles Cary/News Sentinel

Jack Evans photographed this black bear family a year ago on the Cades Cove Loop Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "I saw a bear and a cub, then there was another, and another just ambling down (the) road," said Evans. "(They) passed right by me. I was overcome by their presence." The Rockford resident used a Nikon 5100. (Jack Evans/Special to the News Sentinel) Jack Evans

Vernie Burchfield, left, and Ollie Myers play "Make Me a Pallet by the Door" in Cades Cove in 1928. Myers was blind and could play any instrument put in his hands according to his niece, Verna Myers. Myers family

Ranger Mike Maslona (CQ) and visitor Seth Carnell, 6, from Whitewater, Missouri, listen to the buzz made by a colony of soil-nesting miner bees Thursday, June 29, 2011 at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The adult bees are active for about a month in the summer building burrows and stocking them with pollen as food for larvae. Paul Efird, Paul Efird/News Sentinel

Nine year-old Daniel Feldman of Grosse Pointe, MI catches a bumblebee at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cades Cove on Wednesday, July 14, 2010. Ranger Susan Simpson led a group of volunteers in capturing and recording types of bumblebees found in the area. The park has experienced a sharp decline in two types of bumblebees recently, the rusty patched or Bombus affinis, and the yellow banded or Bombus terricola. Amy Smotherman Burgess, Knoxville News Sentinel

Danny Mick, 7, leaps over a stream of water while his twin sister Emma comes under the fence following him during a butterfly banding class Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010 in Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains National Park. Another class member Ida Mae Patteson (cq) is top right. Michael Patrick, Knoxville News Sentinel

06/28/05 Clouds hang over Cades Cove, which is one of the featured attractions of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It can be easily visited by motorized transportation, but is often congested. Five alternatives are on the table to lessen traffic problems and range from doing nothing to a mandatory shuttle system. Joe Howell

A deer slowly picks its way across a field at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is regarded as the most visited part of the country's most visited national Park. October 2005 Tracey Trumbull, Knoxville News Sentinel

The 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road will be closed nearly three months next year for reconstruction, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009.
The popular scenic route will be closed to all traffic from March 1-May 21. The project is weather sensitive so the work could be affected by the amount of rainfall during that time, according to the park. The pavement will be basically roto-tilled, mixed with underlying materials to a depth of 6 inches, then mixed with water and cement, according to the park. Michael Patrick, Knoxville News Sentinel

Appalachian Trail hikers take in a view of Cades Cove in April 2003 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This portion of the AT is part of the hike from Newfound Gap to the Hazel Creek embayment via the Jenkins Ridge Trail. Paul Efird, Paul Efird/News Sentinel

An undated photograph of the Caughron barn in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On Christmas Eve, the 98-year-old structure in Cades Cove collapsed during a storm. The barn will likely not re-built according to Park officials. 'There's a limit to how much new material we can use and still maintain the barn's historic value,' said park spokesman Bob Miller.
Danny Young, Danny Young/Special

Naturalist Whitey Hitchcock collects chanterelles from the forest floor Tuesday in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The choice, edible fungi are prized by chefs but it took Hitchcock a while to appreciate them. "When I first starting eating them, I didn't like them, but they grew on me. They go real good with gamey food like elk and wild pig," he said. News Sentinel Archives

A barn and out buildings at the Greg-Cable house, and Grist mill in Cades Cove Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Sevierville businessman offers biplane rides.(J. MILES CARY/NEWS SENTINEL) J. Miles Cary/News Sentinel

Gene LeQuire and RubyJo Williams, 1948. LeQuire was an infant in 1929 when the U.S. acquired his family's property in Cades Cove to became part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Submittted, Gene LeQuire/Special

A whitetail deer puts up a "flag" to alert herd-mates of danger on Tuesday at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. GSMNP wildlife biologist Bill Stiver says visitors have an unique opportunity for viewing wildlife in Cades Cove which has one of the largest densities of deer in the park. "But we've noticed an actual decrease in the Cades Cove deer population in the last 15 years which is possibly due to predators like bears, coyotes, and bobcats," Stiver said. He cautions visitors not to approach wildlife too closely. "We're trying to encourage people to observe from the roadside," he said. Joe Howell

A full moon, also known in October as the Full Hunter's Moon rises over Cades Cove on last week in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to Stardate.org, a moon appearing larger on the horizon is an illusion and is not any further from Earth than when the moon is seen overhea in the night sky. "When the Moon is nestled along the horizon we see it surrounded by a foreground of familiar Earth-bound objects. In comparison with these features, the bright disk of the full Moon appears quite large, and relative to our normal sense of the Moon's size, much bigger than we would expect." States the website. Saul Young, Knoxville News Sentinel

Junior Gibson takes the lead singing "Why I Love Jesus" during Old Timers Day in Cades Cove on Sept. 29, 1992 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "That's what I cut my teeth on," said Gibson about the gospel tune. Fritz Hoffmann, News Sentinel

Kayla Montgomery cools her feet in a stream running out of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park following a 16 mile run in Cades Cove with a group of ladies to prepare for an all-woman Team in Training marathon. Joe Howell, News Sentinel

Bob and Sandra Farrell of Knoxville sit with their great-grandson who they are raising, Neo Waller, 6, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Clingmans Dome on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. It was Neo's first time in the mountains. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL) Caitie McMekin, AP

Visitors Mike Henry of Ann Arbor, Mich. and Matt Hutton of San Luis Obispo, Calif. round the walkway to the Clingmans Dome observation tower beneath starry autumn skies on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The two made their nighttime stop at Clingmans while on a trip to visit all the "high points" in the continental U.S. At 6,643 feet high, Clingmans Dome is the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi, and the highest point in Tennessee. The site remains open year-round, but the seven-mile paved road leading to Clingmans closes during winter, and will reopen Apr. 1. (ADAM LAU/NEWS SENTINEL) Adam Lau, Knoxville News Sentinel

Cades Cove Riding Stables wrangler Ben Yoder tends to Mindy and her five-week-old colt Cadie on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The stables, operated on contract basis from the National Park Service, is seeing a growth in business. Barn manager Scott Gadbury said, "Last year we averaged about 150 a day. I'd say we're up at least 25 to 30 percent over last year." Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel

Park ranger Ann Schlichting gives a talk about the cemeteries that exist in Cades Cove at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Tour was part of the Smoky Mountains Winter Heritage Festival. Amy Smotherman Burgess, Knoxville News Sentinel

A tour led by Ranger Ann Schlichting visits Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Cades Cove on Saturday Feb. 7, 2009 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The tour was part of the Smoky Mountains Winter Heritage Festival. Amy Smotherman Burgess, Knoxville News Sentinel

Pi Beta Phi Elementary School students Emily Blankenship , center, and Marc Muszik, right, ride the Cades Cove loop Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The students, along with park ranger in education Jennifer Pierce, discussed what it would be like working as future park rangers. Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Ranger John O. Morrell shows off the sign at the entrance to the first completed link of the Foothills Parkway on Sept. 3, 1965. The entrance is just south of Walland and the road extends 11 miles to Murray Gap atop Chilhowee Mountain (Look Rock). Despite the sign, the segment that continues to U.S. 129 and Chilhowee Lake was yet to be completed. News Sentinel Archive

Jeff Fowler hikes down Clingmans Dome Access Road towards Newfound Gap while detouring from the Appalachian Trail due to heavy rains on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Fowler and friend, Don Nguyen, both ex-Marines, are thru-hiking the AT to raise money for Higher Ground, a non-profit rehabilitation program for military veterans. (ADAM LAU/NEWS SENTINEL) Adam Lau, Knoxville News Sentinel

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Newfound Gap on September 2, 1940. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes is seated just to the right of the microphones. Next to him at the right Eleanor Roosevelt. At extreme right Gov. Clyde Hoey of North Carolina. Also pictured are U.S. Sen. Robert Reynolds of North Carolina and U.S. Sen. Kenneth McKellar of Tennessee. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hall Medlin holds black bear cubs in March 2006 during a den visit led by University of Tennessee researchers to monitor reproduction in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jared Laufenberg/Special

Helen Lunsford prepares to cook hamburgers for her family (Tracy Ingle, left and Eddie Lunsford) at a rest area. Lunsford had travels from Harriman for a picnic in Cades Cove but found the park closed, October, 1990. Fritz Hoffmann, News Sentinel

The Mount Cammerer fire tower in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seen in a 1940 photograph. Fountain City native Laura Beth Ingle's depiction of the Mount Cammerer tower recently won a national competition among students and professional architects. Tennessee State Library and Archives

Hikers traveling on the 8.5 mile Rich Mountain Loop Trail need to pay attention to signs along the way as the hike coincides with the Indian Grave Gap and Crooked Arm Ridge Trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cades Cove Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. (ADAM BRIMER/NEWS SENTINEL)
Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel

Carl Penird of Marion, Ind., enjoys a day of trout fishing on the Little River inside the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The Little River will be the beneficiary of a fund-raising event called Troutfest Saturd and Sunday, June 5-6, at the Townsend Visitors Center. Penird is retired from the electronics industry and stopped off for a little fishing en route to a wedding in Virginia. On this day Penird caught about a half-dozen trout. Two of those he called "keepers," but he released them anyway. Robert Wilson/ News Sentinel staff

President Donald Trump has prioritized reopening national parks as a sign of “significant progress against the invisible enemy” of the pandemic, even as cases rise in an outbreak that has devastated the U.S. economy.

Park officials said the first phase of restrictions will last at least two weeks. Management will then decide whether to reopen secondary roads and campgrounds, and later, lift all restrictions.

Many national parks remain fully or partially closed, though Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park in Utah and the Everglades National Park in Florida have also announced phased reopenings. Federal authorities have yet to publicly announce timelines for other closed parks to reopen.

The opening at the end of 2018 of a 16-mile section of the Foothills Parkway on the Tennessee side of the Great Smokies helped contribute to a record-high visitation in 2019. Courtesy of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A male elk munches on a leaf along US 441, north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Oct. 14, 2019. Elk were reintroduced to the park in 2001 after being eliminated from the area in the late 1700s. ANGELI WRIGHT/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

Cars can back up for a half-mile from the Clingman's Dome parking area during peak visitation times in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park reached a record-high of 12.5 million visitors in 2019. Courtesy of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park reached a record-high visitation of 12.5 million people in 2019. Crowded parking lots like this one in Cades Cove show how popular the park has become. Courtesy of Warren Bielenberg/Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Trees on the mountains are mostly green with some color change at higher elevations in a view from the Soco Craft's tower in Maggie Valley on Oct. 14, 2019. A sign on the store hails the view from the tower the "most photographed view in the Smokies." ANGELI WRIGHT/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

A male elk lays in a field along US 441, north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Oct. 14, 2019. Elk were reintroduced to the park in 2001 after being eliminated from the area in the late 1700s. ANGELI WRIGHT/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

A male elk munches on a leaf along US 441, north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Oct. 14, 2019. Elk were reintroduced to the park in 2001 after being eliminated from the area in the late 1700s. ANGELI WRIGHT/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

Trees on the mountains are mostly green with some color change at higher elevations in a view from the Soco Craft's tower in Maggie Valley on Oct. 14, 2019. A sign on the store hails the view from the tower the "most photographed view in the Smokies." ANGELI WRIGHT/ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

Azaleas bloom on Gregory Bald in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The unique species are maintained by yearly mowing on the bald to keep back woody species that would otherwise shade them out. Courtesy of National Park Service

Matt Kulp, Great Smoky Mountains National Park fisheries biologist, prepares to release antimycin, a fish pesticide, into a creek to remove the non-native rainbow trout. Courtesy of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Visitors watch the synchronous fireflies at the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on June 3, 2019. Between 980 and 1100 come to the campground to watch the phenomenon each night of the 8-day mating period. Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com

Visitors unload from trolleys and find a space along trails at the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to view the synchronous fireflies on June 3, 2019. Between 980 and 1100 come to the campground to watch the phenomenon each night of the 8-day mating period. Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com

Visitors unload from trolleys and find a space along trails at the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to view the synchronous fireflies on June 3, 2019. Between 980 and 1100 come to the campground to watch the phenomenon each night of the 8-day mating period. Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com

Visitors unload from trolleys and find a space along trails at the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to view the synchronous fireflies on June 3, 2019. Between 980 and 1100 come to the campground to watch the phenomenon each night of the 8-day mating period. Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com

Visitors unload from trolleys and find a space along trails at the Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to view the synchronous fireflies on June 3, 2019. Between 980 and 1100 come to the campground to watch the phenomenon each night of the 8-day mating period. Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com

Paul Efird, Knoxville News Sentinel
Cassius Cash, superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, leads Joel Zachry and Kathryn Pryor on a hike.
Park Superintendent Cassius Cash, right, hikes with Smoky Mountain Field School co-director Joel Zachry, left, and Kathryn Pryor of the University of Tennessee Kids U program Thursday, July 14, 2016, in the Greenbrier district of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They are hiking with a group of Junior Naturalists as part of Cash's mission to encourage young people to be active outdoors and with the Smokies Centennial Challenge, a year-long program that invites participants to hike 100 miles on any of the park's maintained trails. (Paul Efird/News Sentinel)
[Via MerlinFTP Drop] Paul Efird, Knoxville News Sentinel

Courtesy of Friends of the Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park?s Mountain Farm Museum at Oconaluftee Visitor Center will see new growth this summer with the construction of a garden fence to keep elk out of the crops.
Great Smoky Mountains National Parkâ€™s Mountain Farm Museum at Oconaluftee Visitor Center will see new growth this summer with the construction of a garden fence to keep elk out of the crops. Courtesy of Friends of the Smoki, Courtesy of Friends of the Smoki

Tents are set up at Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains April 10, 2019. The campground, which is partially open year-round, will fully open May 15. The six-week government shutdown this winter is causing delays in Great Smokies spring openings of campgrounds and other facilities. Angela Wilhelm/awilhelm@citizentimes.com

Visitors prepare for the total solar eclipse last August at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park had a record 11.3 million visitors in 2017. Courtesy of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Inside Little Greenbrier School is Mr. Matthews, the last teacher at the school. From "People of the Smokies," a collection of photos of people in the Smoky Mountain area during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Courtesy photo

THE MILLIONTH GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS PARK VISITOR- MRS. JOHN W. LEGLER, BEING PRESENTED A BOOK BY COL. CHAPMAN- AUGUST 24, 1941.
COLLECTION OF PHOTOS OF PEOPLE IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN AREA DURING THE 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO

Major Pettibone Gunter- Constable, 9th District, Cocke County, Tenn. - June 2, 1936.
Collection of photos of people in the Smoky Mountain area during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO

JIM CARR TUBMILL- IN THE SUGARLANDS AREA OF THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK.
COLLECTION OF PHOTOS OF PEOPLE IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN AREA DURING THE 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO

MILAS MESSER- OF CATALOOCHEE, NC. MR. MESSER WAS A MASTER BLACKSMITH, TANNER, AND COPPER.
COLLECTION OF PHOTOS OF PEOPLE IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN AREA DURING THE 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO

Little Greenbrier School- children studying. School was held here from 1882 until 1936. Little Greenbrief Cove, Tenn.
Collection of photos of people in the Smoky Mountain area during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO

Andy Gregory and boys- Cades Cove, about 1935. The Gregory family was one of the early families to settle the cove.
Collection of photos of people in the Smoky Mountain Area during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO